Macron to meet Putin and Zelensky in separate talks next week

The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York speaks with Olha Polishchuk, a conflict data analyst who tracks military and civilian deaths in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The suspects in the embezzlement scheme were caught "red-handed" while trying to illegally transfer the money, and $320,000 was seized from them, according to Kravchenko.

The Kyiv Independent’s separate analytical unit, KI Insights, is excited to announce the launch of its podcast, Ukraine Insights — a show dedicated to unpacking Ukraine’s politics, security, economy, and international relations through in-depth, expert-driven conversations.

"I see that Ukraine is preparing further actions aimed at disrupting the operation of Hungary's energy system," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed.

"Usually, when Russia fails to win on the battlefield, it start looking for nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"I won't go into too many details, but today I can congratulate our army first and foremost —all the defense forces — because as of today, 300 (square) kilometers have been liberated," Zelensky told Agence France-Presse.

Witkoff said he would meet with Ukraine's security chief Rustem Umerov on Feb. 26, though the primary purpose of his visit would be negotiations with Iran.

The Air Force said that Russia attacked Ukraine with 115 drones overnight, of which around 60 were Shahed-type. It reported downing 95 drones in the north, south, and east of Ukraine.

The number includes 1,070 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

The U.S. State Department warned Ukraine in November 2025 that its strike on Russia's Novorossiysk port threatened American economic interests.

Damage from the attack forced Transneft to cut crude oil intake by 250,000 barrels per day and could cause further problems for Russian oil exports, affecting volumes and quality of oil shipped, industry sources told Reuters.

"Is not missing children, shelling of cities, and the killing of innocents enough? It is not a business deal — it is war," former Special Envoy Keith Kellogg said in a scathing post after the vote.